2021-2022

In this course, students will read a whole work, most often, but not exclusively, a novel or play. Nevertheless, the course advances student proficiency in all 4 skills. Naturally, reading is a central activity of this course. Students in the Intermediate High range* can expect to either feel more solidly comfortable in that level, or to go beyond it to the Advanced level. Students will improve their writing through a number of essays/reflections on the novel. The course is taught in Arabic, so, students will be negotiating meaning amongst themselves by discussing the novel. In addition, the presentational mode will be exercised in a series of prepared class presentations. To improve their listening skills, students will work on video materials connected to the novel, testing their abilities through worksheets. While no new grammar will be introduced in a formal manner, as students read the novel and use the writing book, they will be reviewing grammar studied earlier. In addition to the novel, students will benefit from guest speakers in our classroom.

Taking debate as its central fulcrum, the course will develop all 4 language skills. Its language goals are served through preparing students to debate a number of issues of public interest. Why “debate”? a) Because debating, arguing, making claims, supporting claims with evidence, are all authentic activities that we all practice on a daily basis; debating is a relevant real-life skill; b) Because the debate process pulls practitioners into all 4 language skills: debaters must read on the proposition topic, they must prepare their arguments in writing, they must clearly speak to an audience, and they must listen carefully to their team mates and to the arguments of the opposing team. In the process, they will be immersed in Arab culture (targeted expressions and historical references, of-the-moment issues, etc.) Course Objectives a) Expanding student vocabulary and structures into the abstract, analytic realm, i.e., placing them solidly in the advanced ACTFL levels (see the descriptions of the ACTFL standards and levels here: https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/public/ACTFLProficiencyG… b) Improving student speech techniques: pronunciation, intonation/voice modulation, pausing, emphasis, gesturing, visual communication; c) Improving listening and writing skills and expanding them to include topics of general and academic interest; d) Through a thoughtful selection of debate propositions, exposing students to some salient social, cultural, and political themes of importance to the Arab public. e) Sharpening the logical argumentative skills of students.

This course is part of a sequence that is designed to take students to a solid Advanced proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic. It does this by clustering materials that serve all 4 language skills around three cultural themes. The class adheres to a 90% Arabic instruction. Students will move forward in their ability to listen to and understand spoken MSA, to read a variety of authentic texts (literary and other), and to speak and write more easily on topics of general and professional interest. By the end of the course, and surely, by the end of the academic year, students should be comfortable functioning at the Intermediate High-Advanced Low level of language proficiency. See the descriptions of the ACTFL standards and levels here: https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/public/ACTFLProficiencyG…

The goal of Advanced Readings in Arabic (1 and 2) is that students achieve the advanced-low level of reading proficiency, at least, by the end of the two terms, while improving their ability to write and speak fluently in MSA. To accomplish this, we will read, discuss, and enjoy a variety of short modern fiction in Arabic (short stories, novellas, and novels) by twentieth- and twenty-first-century writers. Open to students who have taken Arabic 30203 or 30303 or who have reached a commensurate level.

This course introduces the main paradigms of social thought and their philosophical basis and examines their impact on archaeology and historical studies. Theoretical views, whether acknowledged or merely implicit, strongly affect scholarly interpretations of empirical data. The data do not speak for themselves but are interpreted quite differently depending on the theoretical paradigm at work in the interpretation. In this course, we will focus on the ways in which various social theories have shaped scholarly views of social and economic life in the ancient Near East, in particular.

The course focuses on the improvement of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in modern formal and spoken Armenian. The course covers a rich vocabulary in modern formal and colloquial Armenian, and the most complex grammatical structures and frames. The main objective is literary fluency. Reading assignments include a variety of texts (literary works, newspaper articles, etc.). Students practice the vocabulary (newly acquired in their readings) through discussions and critical analysis of texts in Armenian. There are also enhanced writing assignments: essays on given topics, writing blogs or wiki pages, etc. The goal is to achieve an advanced level of proficiency in modern formal and spoken Armenian. A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies or related fields, or to pursue work in Armenia.

The course focuses on the improvement of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in modern formal and spoken Armenian. The course covers a rich vocabulary in modern formal and colloquial Armenian, and the most complex grammatical structures and frames. The main objective is literary fluency. Reading assignments include a variety of texts (literary works, newspaper articles, etc.). Students practice the vocabulary (newly acquired in their readings) through discussions and critical analysis of texts in Armenian. There are also enhanced writing assignments: essays on given topics, writing blogs or wiki pages, etc. The goal is to achieve an advanced level of proficiency in modern formal and spoken Armenian. A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies or related fields, or to pursue work in Armenia.

The course focuses on the improvement of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in modern formal and spoken Armenian. The course covers a rich vocabulary in modern formal and colloquial Armenian, and the most complex grammatical structures and frames. The main objective is literary fluency. Reading assignments include a variety of texts (literary works, newspaper articles, etc.). Students practice the vocabulary (newly acquired in their readings) through discussions and critical analysis of texts in Armenian. There are also enhanced writing assignments: essays on given topics, writing blogs or wiki pages, etc. The goal is to achieve an advanced level of proficiency in modern formal and spoken Armenian. A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies or related fields, or to pursue work in Armenia.

In this class students will learn to produce line drawings of cuneiform texts first with pen and paper and then using newer technologies. We will study different styles and approaches to line drawings and focus first on the Neo-Sumerian then on the Old Babylonian epigraphy.

We will first read a selection of royal inscriptions mainly from the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. Then we read selected excerpts of the earliest literary texts. The goal of the class is to familiarize students with the sign forms, orthography, and grammatical particularities of Old Sumerian.